


Uke Party!

by Squidalicious



Category: Junjou Romantica, Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Bitching About The Semes, Drunken Uke Antics, Friendship, M/M, silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 02:19:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11887851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squidalicious/pseuds/Squidalicious
Summary: (Request) On a rare, seme-free evening, six Tokyo ukes get together to bond, have fun and whine about their overbearing boyfriends. Much silliness ensues.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this request ages ago but thought I might as well post it here. The requester wanted to see all the ukes hanging out as friends. It's really, really stupid, but it went down pretty well on FF.net. Hope you enjoy!

Chiaki paled beneath the tall figure blocking the doorway. The man stood with one hand against the doorframe, his arm barring the way, as if to make it clear that the young mangaka wasn't welcome there. Two purple, bloodshot eyes glared at Chiaki through a mess of silver hair, and he swallowed.

 _So…_ this _is 'Usagi-san'?_ Chiaki had heard he was handsome, but at the moment he looked kind of like a dragon in a tie and vest. _Why does he look so angry? All I did was ask if Misaki was home…_

After scrutinising Chiaki for a good few minutes, the supposed novelist finally spoke.

"And what exactly do you want with my Misaki?"

There was no mistaking the dangerous edge to his voice. Doing his best not to cower, Chiaki dug into his shoulder bag.

"I-I borrowed this copy of _The Kan_ from him…" He help up the manga with trembling hands. "So, I came to return it. If he's not here, I can come back another time…"

He trailed off as Usami's frown deepened. Narrowing his eyes, the taller man reached out and plucked the book from a surprised Chiaki's grasp.

"Uh…"

"I'll give this to him," he said, flicking through the pages before once again looking down his nose at the mangaka. "You can leave now."

Chiaki blinked his blue eyes. _What did I do to make him so mad?_ "Um, okay, but…"

"Usagi-san!"

Usami's head swivelled at the angry shout. Peering past the tall, muscular form, Chiaki released a sigh of relief as he saw Misaki inside. He was descending the stairs with a towel around his neck, frowning at his landlord.

"Are you being rude to Yoshino-sensei?"

"I was just telling him I'd pass on the book he brought, so he can go home," Usami said, suddenly perfectly calm as Misaki approached. The younger man clicked his tongue. The ends of his hair were still dripping from the shower he'd taken.

"You couldn't even invite him in? Where are your manners?"

Broad shoulders shrugged as Usami looked Chiaki up and down.

"He asked to see you. How did I know he wasn't planning to make a move on you?"

As Chiaki's eyebrows shot straight up, Misaki gave Usami a hard shove to the side, glaring.

"I keep telling you not to make those assumptions about everyone you meet!" he yelled, and pointed a stern finger towards the staircase. "Now, go comb your hair and get your suitcase. If you don't leave soon, you'll miss your flight, and Aikawa-san will be mad."

While the author trudged upstairs- eyeing Chiaki suspiciously on his way- Misaki stood in the entryway in front of Chiaki and bowed.

"I'm really, really sorry about him, Yoshino-sensei," he said, sighing as he straightened. "Thank you for bringing the manga back. Would you like to come in?"

"Uh…" Chiaki was about to decline out of fear of being ground to a pulp by Usami-sensei- but then he remembered the snacks Misaki made last time they met up. "Okay, sure!"

He stepped into the entryway, toeing off his sneakers before following Misaki inside. His jaw dropped as he took in the condo, which he'd never visited before; it was even bigger than Chiaki's apartment, with huge, wide windows overlooking the city and wooden floorboards polished to a shine. With wide eyes the mangaka gazed around, impressed, as Misaki lead him past two enormous, pink couches and into a sparkling kitchen.

"I was just about to make some dango," he said. There was a green apron hanging on a hook in the kitchen, and Misaki slipped it on and tied it around his waist. "Are you hungry, Yoshino-sensei?"

A growl echoed throughout the kitchen. Flushing, Chiaki pressed his hands into his seemingly bottomless stomach, but as soon as he made eye contact with Misaki they both laughed. The editor began opening cupboards, taking bags of flour and sugar and pouring them into a large mixing bowl.

"Want me to help you?" Chiaki asked.

Misaki hesitated, spilling some flour over the side of the bowl.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that, sensei- you're my guest!" he said hastily, a nervous smile on his lips. "You can just sit back and let me do all the work."

Chiaki complied with a nod, leaning against the counter. He knew that the real reason Misaki had declined was because he knew what a hopeless chef his friend was- but he was doing his best to spare Chiaki's feelings. The mangaka had to smile at his considerate nature. It was that inherent sensitivity to everyone around him, Chiaki reckoned, that made Misaki so likeable.

They'd been good friends for months now, despite the age gap. The two of them had met at one of Marukawa's glitzy parties, both feeling awkward and out-of-place and being drawn to each other as a result. Misaki had been enthralled upon learning that Chiaki was a manga artist, and they'd struck up conversation, soon realising that they shared the same taste in manga, TV shows, food and just about everything else. Their rapport had become even stronger once they discovered they were both ukes; for Chiaki, to finally have a friend who was also gay but liked him in a mere platonic way was a big relief.

After a few minutes of them goofing around in the kitchen, Usami re-emerged from the second floor with a large, expensive looking suitcase in hand. Lavender eyes glowered at Chiaki for a split second- but the mangaka was forgotten as soon as Usami caught sight of Misaki. Busy cooking, Chiaki's friend hadn't noticed the author, and continued chatting away as he bustled around in his rather effeminate apron. Even to an uke like Chiaki, he looked pretty adorable. The silver-haired seme certainly seemed to think so as he descended the stairs, lustful eyes making a slow crawl over Misaki's form.

Before the mangaka could even blink, Usami was behind Misaki, pointedly ignoring Chiaki as he wrapped two long, strong arms around his uke, who started.

"What now, Usagi-san?"

"You know how much I love that apron on you, Misaki," he all but purred into his boyfriend's ear. "It's so cruel of you to get dressed up all cute like that when I'm about to leave."

Blue eyes widened at this display from the novelist. Chiaki had never seen anything like this before; Hatori could be a little aggressive at times, but he was always more than gentlemanly to his uke- nothing like the shameless sexual predator in front of him now.

However, Misaki- though obviously chagrined- didn't seem the least bit surprised by his seme's actions (was this the kind of thing he put up with every day?). He simply carried on mixing his dango dough as he grumbled,

"Would you just go already? You're going to miss your flight."

Usami sighed, resting his chin on Misaki's shoulder. "Do I really have to go…?"

" _Yes_ ," said Misaki, lightly poking Akihiko's cheek with the wooden spoon. "Aikawa-san and I told you, you can't just blow off an interview as important as this one just because you don't feel like going."

The author wiped the blob of batter from his face with a thumb and licked it. "I'm fine with doing the interview. What I don't want to do is leave you alone with him," he said, eyes narrowing once again as they swivelled in Chiaki's direction.

A nervous laugh escaped Chiaki. "Um, if it makes you feel any better, Usami-sensei, I already have a boyfriend."

"Oh, really?" Usami raised an elegant eyebrow. "Who is it?"

"To- I mean, Hatori is my editor," Chiaki told him. When the novelist still looked disbelieving, he added, "He works in the same department as Misaki-kun."

When Misaki confirmed this with a nod, Akihiko stared at Chiaki for a long while before speaking again.

"… Alright," he said reluctantly. "Yoshino-sensei, was it? I'll trust you for the time being.

"However, before I leave, be aware that your boss, Isaka-san, happens to be a close acquaintance of mine." As he spoke, Usami let go of his uke and walked towards an increasingly uncomfortable Chiaki. He leaned down until his face was level with the shorter man's, and Chiaki tried not to squirm.

"So, if I hear that you have so much as laid a hand on my Misaki, I can guarantee that Marukawa will drop you in a heartbeat."

Before Chiaki had a chance to answer, there came a cry of outrage from his friend, and Usami was abruptly yanked away from the mangaka.

"That's it!" Misaki yelled, frogmarching his boyfriend towards the door. "You are leaving right now! I'm not having you speak to Yoshino-sensei like that!"

With a sigh, Usami bent to pick up his brown leather suitcase from where he'd left it on the floor. "I'm just protecting my Misaki from danger."

This sentient did not sway Misaki.

"Get out of here, idiot," he said, rolling his green eyes. They grew round, however, when the novelist pulled Misaki into a kiss without warning.

"I love you," he said once he'd released the editor's lips. The smile on his face was warm, and Chiaki (despite his initial impression of Usami) could tell that he meant what he said.

Misaki's face was burning a deep shade of red as he practically shoved his seme out of the door. He looked mortified as he returned to the kitchen, refusing to look his friend in the eye.

"I'm so sorry, Yoshino-sensei…"

Chiaki laughed. "It's fine. Tori gets jealous, too." After a moment's consideration, he added, "I don't know why Usami-sensei would be worried about me, though- I mean, I know I'm the same age as him, but I'm still an uke."

He often wondered the same thing about Hatori; his boyfriend was constantly suspicious of Chiaki's friend Yuu, and although he had confessed to Chiaki, he was most definitely uke, too.

Misaki grimaced, sinking his fingers back into the dango dough. The blush still hadn't left his cheeks. "He gets jealous of anything that goes near me- even inanimate objects. It's so embarrassing…"

"Well, it's nice that he cares about you so much, I guess," said Chiaki, shrugging as he watched Misaki cook.

"It's annoying as hell is what it is." Misaki's response was gruff as he began separating his dough into three smaller bowls. Opening a drawer, he produced three dinky little bottles of food colouring; blue, pink and green.

"I hardly ever get to hang out with my friends, just because Usagi-san has some ridiculous notion that they all want to tie me up and rape me."

The editor added a few drops of food colouring to each bowl and began roughly kneading the dango again, fingers quickly staining. Chiaki smiled.

"Yeah, Tori's like that with my friend Yuu. He won't leave me alone in the same room as him."

By this time, Misaki had succeeded in shaping his dough into three different coloured balls. He sighed as he placed them onto the countertop.

"I know he's only looking out for me. I just wish he wouldn't be so overprotective all the time."

Despite his friend's protests, Chiaki was able to convince Misaki to let him help by pinching off chunks of dango mixture and rolling them into smaller balls (not even Chiaki could mess up such a simple task, after all). The pair of them worked in comfortable silence, the mound of doughy spheres in front of them steadily growing as their hands grew powdery with flour and green with food colouring. Chiaki was enjoying himself; Hatori always insisted on doing all the cooking alone.

Much as he loved spending time with his seme, Chiaki had to admit as he and Misaki baked together that it was kind of nice to hang out with a fellow uke in peace; to not have to worry about making him jealous, or be nagged about his manuscript… As Misaki fetched a packet of thin, wooden sticks, a sudden idea came to Chiaki's mind.

"Say, Misaki-kun," he said, pushing several dango balls onto a stick. "Since Usami-sensei isn't here, why don't we throw a party tonight?"

Misaki looked up. "A party?"

"Yeah," said Chiaki, smiling. "We could hang out with all our friends and not have to worry about our semes for once."

"I don't know…" Misaki bit his lip. "It wouldn't feel right having a party in Usagi-san's house without asking him. Besides, I'm not really a party person," he admitted. Chiaki, however, was growing excited.

"Come on, it'll be fun! We can dance and drink and eat snacks and sing karaoke!"

"Who would we even invite?" asked Misaki, skewering another dough ball. "I don't have that many friends…"

The mangaka was already whipping out his phone. "I'll ask Yuu. Hey, what about Onodera-san and Shouta-san from _Emerald_ , too?" he added, remembering that Misaki worked in the manga department. "They're nice guys, and we both know them."

"Oh, yeah, good idea..." Seemingly warming to the idea, Misaki took out his own phone and started texting. "I could invite Sumi-senpai as well."

His friend nodded eagerly, mounting the rest of the dango on sticks as Misaki sent out invites. It had been ages since he'd been to a proper party.

Putting down his phone, Misaki crossed his arms and looked around the kitchen. "If I'm gonna have more guests, I guess we should make some more food."

The ever-hungry Chiaki broke into a grin. "Okay!"

* * *

About an hour later, Misaki was adding the finishing touches to his _canapés_ (or whatever they were called), plates of which were scattered all over the kitchen. He and Chiaki had gone a little overboard with the food preparation...Admittedly, Misaki had done most of the work, but when the two of them decided to bake a cake for all the party guests, he'd relented and allowed his friend to whip the cream for him. It hadn't been _too_ disastrous, but the mangaka may have gotten just a teensy bit carried away- which was why he was currently helping Misaki mop the countertops clean of splattered cream and icing.

Chiaki's phone buzzed, and he wiped a white blob from the screen before checking it. It was a text from Yuu, saying he'd be at Misaki's that evening. Chiaki could hardly wait; to have fun with his friends, yes, but mostly just to eat the food they'd been making. The cake had been baking away in the oven for a while, and the kitchen smelled so divine it made Chiaki's mouth water. Misaki was almost as good a cook as Hatori.

"Yuu, Shouta-san and Onodera-san are all up for it," he told the editor, who was standing at the sink.

Scrubbing away at the dirty dishes, Misaki returned his friend's excited grin. "Great! So is Sumi-senpai, and Takatsuki-kun is coming, too."

Chiaki grabbed a dishcloth, helping him dry. "Who's that?"

"He was in the year below me at university," Misaki said, passing him a bowl. "I used to give him cooking lessons."

"Cooking lessons?" That seemed a strange thing for college students to do together. "Why?"

Misaki shrugged. "He had my yakisoba at one of our school's festivals and asked if I'd help him to cook better. Something about his boyfriend getting tired of cabbage…?"

Setting down the last of the dried dishes, Chiaki asked, "So, he's an uke, too?"

"Yeah, so we'll all get along."

"Awesome!" As Misaki untied and dusted off his floury apron, Chiaki did a happy little jump and almost dropped the whisk he was holding. He was so looking forward to the evening, in fact, that he failed to notice the grey haze that was settling over the room. "This is gonna be great! See if Tori or Usami-sensei can stop us having fun!"

The two of them giggled as Misaki made to hang up his apron- only to freeze abruptly in their tracks. A faint, yet horribly unmistakable smell had overpowered that of the cake and was growing steadily stronger…

"Yoshino-sensei," said Misaki as clouds of smoke began drifting into view, "did you remember to turn off the oven?"

Chiaki blinked. "The what?"

_BOOM._

* * *

 

As neither cook thought fire extinguisher foam would pass for whipped cream, they had to make another cake.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was just beginning to slide behind the cityscape as Kisa jogged across the street towards the bookstore. Takano-san had let him leave early, meaning he had a few spare minutes to visit Yukina before he had to be at his artist's place.

Marimo books wasn't too crowded as Kisa approached. He was eager to see his boyfriend; the two had hardly had any time for each other as of late. But there was also another reason he wanted to check on Yukina…

Reaching the other side of the road, Kisa's doe, brown eyes immediately scanned the section of sidewalk directly opposite the bookstore. There were a fair few people, passing or milling about, but none- thankfully- was familiar to Kisa. He breathed a sigh of relief.

_He's not here._

For the past week, whenever Kisa visited Marimo Books, he'd noticed there was almost always a particular guy hanging around in front of the store. He was a young, caramel-haired man who looked like a college student (though Kisa, looking as he did at thirty, could never be sure), and for hours he would just stand there and stare into the shop window, looking like he wanted to enter but never actually making it through the door.

It had been seriously creeping Kisa out.

What was more concerning, however, was that the young man- whoever he was- was very obviously gay. Kisa knew a fellow uke when he saw one, and this one always had a kind of conflicted look in his grey eyes. He looked shy- afraid, even- as he gazed at the building, and furthermore, whenever Yukina came out of the store to meet Kisa, clad in his flattering bookseller's uniform, the mysterious boy's eyes would pop out of his head, and he'd turn tail and sprint away down the street.

Yukina never noticed the weird boy, but Kisa did, and he was worried about him. Why? Because there was only one explanation for this uke's strange behaviour: he'd fallen in love with Yukina's face, just like Kisa had.

Simply put, his boyfriend had a stalker.

Kisa had not yet voiced his concerns to Yukina. The handsome art student had already been growing a little exasperated with him as of late, saying he was too paranoid and insecure, and Kisa didn't want to give him more reason to be right. Still, the way that guy was always watching the store made him suspicious…

Which was why Kisa was so relieved that he wasn't there today. _Hopefully he's given up…_ Whatever had happened to the stalker, Kisa was just glad he was gone. He smiled as he headed for the bookstore; now, he could simply spend some time with his boyfriend without worry.

When the editor opened the door, however, his face fell at little at the sight of Yukina- decked out in his perfect smile- surrounded by a crowd of young girls, all in short skirts and school blazers. They were blushing and giggling and practically throwing themselves at the art students as he shamelessly teased and flirted with them.

They wiggled their fingers at Yukina as they left, each carrying at least two books to the checkout counter. Kisa knew Yukina's actions were truly nothing more than a sales technique, but he couldn't help the slight sourness to his voice as he walked over and said,

"Still using that face of yours for profit?"

Yukina whirled.

"Kisa-san!" His face lit up upon seeing his boyfriend, but quickly gave way to a sly smirk. "Are you jealous?"

A snort. "You wish. I just don't think you should be chatting up schoolgirls." No way was Kisa going to admit that he _was_ a little jealous- just a teeny tiny bit.

Muscles shifting beneath his polo shirt, Yukina leaned back and rested an elbow against the bookshelf. His blue smock was cinched in at his trim waist, and complemented his crimson eyes very nicely indeed. He smiled down at Kisa, whose mind went blank for a second.

_God, he's gorgeous…_

"You needn't worry, my darling Kisa. I may have captured the hearts of many, but mine will always belong to you and you alone," he drawled, tousling Kisa's sleek, dark hair.

The editor batted his hand off. "I know, Yukina, but the way you act with those girls is really-"

"Excuse me…"

Both men turned their heads in the direction of the sudden voice. There was a guy standing in front of them, still in his coat, with his hands hidden inside his pockets. The lower half of his face was hidden, too, wrapped in a woollen scarf, and he was looking at the floor so they could only see the top of his head…

The top of his head, covered in short, caramel-coloured hair.

Kisa jolted and surprise and fright, but the oblivious Yukina only flashed his charming smile. "Can I help you?"

As the boy slowly raised his head, a pair of large, grey eyes (hiding behind a pair of overlarge glasses) came into view. It was definitely the stalker. Kisa's hands tensed by his sides; what was he doing here?! There was a dusting of pink on the mystery man's cheeks as he looked up at Yukina, and somehow it made the usually docile Kisa boil with anger.

He shouldn't be looking at his Yukina like that!

"There's something I've been wanting to ask…" The stalker shuffled his feet. "It's a little awkward…"

Possessiveness sparked and flared inside Kisa, and he ground his teeth. He was about to confess his feelings! How dare this creep have the audacity to ask Yukina out- especially when Kisa was right there?!

Before Yukina could ever answer, Kisa squared his shoulders and, without fully realising it, started yelling.

"Hold it right there, kid! What do you think you're doing, showing up here in that creepy get-up?" he demanded, surprising himself. He glared at the poorly disguised boy. "You look like a total stalker!"

Round, grey eyes blinked once. "Stalker?"

_Look at him, playing innocent…_ "You think I haven't seen you hanging around outside every day?" He pointed an accusing finger at the man in front of him. "I know you've been creeping on my boyfriend.

"Yukina is mine, so back off, weirdo!" he finished, and took a deep breath, panting a little. He couldn't believe he'd actually said that…

Yukina was staring at his boyfriend. "Kisa-san?"

The editor was hoping he'd scared the stalker off, but unfortunately, he only seemed to have annoyed him. Taking off his glasses, the stranger narrowed his eyes.

"Back off yourself," he said to Kisa, who realised he was still standing in an odd defensive stance. Faltering, he lowered his hand, and the stranger continued angrily. "I wasn't stalking your boyfriend at all, so calm the hell down."

"You… weren't?" said Kisa.

The guy was looking at him like he had two heads. "Why would I? I already havea boyfriend."

"Oh…" Kisa's cheeks were suddenly very hot as he realised he'd been wrong. Mortified, he hung his head. Maybe Yukina was right about him being too paranoid…

In contrast to the others, Yukina seemed thoroughly amused by Kisa's outburst. He chose not to tease him, though, and instead offered his 'stalker' a polite smile. "Then, what did you want to ask me?"

"Oh, right." Becoming shy again, the stranger rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I was wondering if you could recommend something to me…"

"Sure! Did you have a particular genre in mind?"

He coughed, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "Yeah. Uh… I need a good Boy's Love novel…"

It was said in a low mumble, but both Kisa and Yukina heard it. Twin pairs of eyebrows shot up.

"Did you say you wanted to read BL?!" Yukina asked.

The stranger looked incredibly chagrined, but he swallowed (presumably his pride) and answered, "Yes."

Exchanging looks, Yukina and Kisa broke into wide grins at the exact same moment. So, the poor kid was just trying to pluck up the courage to buy some BL. How interesting…

"A male yaoi fan!" said Yukina, nuding his boyfriend's shoulder. "Pretty rare, eh, Kisa-san?"

The blush on the boy's cheeks darkened; he looked incredibly ashamed. Kisa actually felt kind of sorry for him. Yukina, on the other hand, had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"So, do you want a nice, clean read or something a little spicier?" he asked the boy. Kisa had to stifle a sputter at that; his boyfriend's expertise and enthusiasm when it came to romance stories always entertained him- even more so, now that he was unintentionally embarrassing this poor guy.

The stranger was suddenly very interested in his shoelaces. "Th-the second one…" he muttered, to Kisa's surprise.

"Gotcha." As the boy looked up, Yukina wiggled his eyebrows. "Into kinky stuff, are we?"

"Would you just hurry and recommend something?!" he snapped, his tone switching again from bashful to belligerent. Stone-grey eyes were darting around the store, terrified someone would hear his conversation with the bookseller.

"Sure thing!" Yukina said. He paused for a moment, thinking. "Though, to be honest, I'm more of a shoujo guy. My colleague is the BL expert," he told the customer, who was beginning to look a little impatient.

"Then, could you ask them?"

"One second…" With that, Yukina twisted around, cupped his hands around his mouth, and hollered across the almost-silent bookstore: "Hey, Hana! What's a good BL series for a guy?"

Every single person in the store turned their heads towards them at the bizarre question. As the other employee yelled a suggestion (equally loudly) back, the horrified youth covered his bright pink face in his hands, and Kisa had to tightly press his lips together to keep from laughing.

"Okay, thanks!" Yukina shouted. A group of girls sniggered in their direction as he trailed his long fingers over the spines of the many BL novels shelved beside him.

"Ah, here we go!" he said, removing the book he was looking for. On its cover was a drawing of a seme with silver hair and a petite, green-eyed uke. He handed it to the customer. " _Junai Romantica_. Hope you enjoy!"

Peeking through his fingers, the boy begrudgingly took the book from Yukina with a strained 'thank you'.

"Geez, the service here…" he muttered when Yukina was out of earshot. Some people were still staring or laughing, and Kisa- amused though he was- actually felt bad for the poor guy. Being rather open about his tastes in shoujo and BL, Yukina truly didn't realise how much he'd just humiliated his customer.

"Sorry about him," Kisa said, doing his best not to laugh. "He can be a little dense."

The stranger gave him a look. "Says the guy who freaked out when I came within a foot of his boyfriend?"

With a sheepish laugh, Kisa bowed towards him in apology.

"Look, I really am sorry about that," he said as he rose. "People are always flirting with Yukina, and to be honest, it makes me insecure sometimes."

Normally, Kisa wouldn't discuss his and Yukina's relationship so openly with a stranger, but this was just a kid and fellow uke, and for some reason Kisa liked him despite his attitude. He was half-expecting the boy to make some cutting remark, but instead his face softened marginally at the editor's words.

"… I know what you mean. My seme's a mega-flirt, too."

"Yeah?" Tilting his head, Kisa propped himself up against a bookshelf.

The caramel head nodded. "He shares an office with this jerk, and whenever I see them, my boyfriend's all over him. It's really annoying."

Kisa nodded. "Tell me about it. I can't go anywhere without people hitting on Yukina," he said. "Plus, he's such an airhead, half the time he doesn't even realise that's what's happening."

Whilst Yukina certainly knew how to flirt, he was surprisingly slow to realise it when he was the one on the receiving end. His editorial uke was constantly having to drag a confused Yukina away from admirers of both genders, whose attempts to woo the art student were painfully obvious to everyone but Yukina himself.

"You don't need to tell me that guy's an airhead," the customer grumbled. He looked down at the _Junai Romantica_ novel in his hands and grimaced, as though he felt unclean just touching it. "I can't believe he just told an entire store full of people I'm buying BL…"

Chuckling, Kisa assured him, "There's no need to be embarrassed. I'm partial to a bit of _Junai Romantica_ myself every now and then," he added with a wink.

"Are you crazy?" the customer asked. He frowned from Kisa to the book and back again. "Grown men shouldn't be reading trash like this."

"Then why are _you_ reading it?"

Behind the boy's scarf, a huff was just barely audible. He started reluctantly flipping through the BL novel. "Because my seme's a boring old man, that's why."

"Boring?" It took a second or two for Kisa to click. "As in, boring in the bedroom?"

A burning, bright red blush had resurfaced on the young yaoi fan's cheeks, but it seemed he'd decided he could confide in his fellow uke. He nodded.

"We never try anything new- It's just the same old routine, over and over again," he confessed. Embarrassed, grey eyes found Kisa's, searching for understanding. "I wish we could spice things up a bit now and then, you know?"

Kisa did know, though he couldn't claim to have the same problem with Yukina. Due to his promiscuity in his younger days, the adventurous uke had already picked up plenty of 'techniques' to keep things interesting.

This kid, on the other hand, must be serious lacking in practise if he was turning to _Junai Romantica_ to save his sex life.

"So… You're using BL for inspiration?"

The stranger must have seen him holding in laughter, because he prickled once again. "Well, what else am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, try talking to your friends or something," said Kisa, shrugging. "Don't you know any other gay guys?"

"Not really," he responded, a little distractedly; despite his initial denials, the young uke seemed to be becoming rather engaged with the BL novel he was reading… "Except for my senpai from university, and he's a total prude, so he can't help me."

As he continued reading, Kisa thought for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should really interfere with a stranger's personal life, but then again, the two of them had already opened up to each other a fair bit.

"If you don't mind me asking," began Kisa carefully, "why stay with this guy if he bores you? Why not find a seme more… up to your speed?"

The small, blonde head jerked sharply upwards from amidst the book's pages, starling Kisa. In the stranger's dark eyes was a fiery, almost angry look.

"That's impossible," he deadpanned. "I'd never leave Miyagi, ever. He's my destiny."

'Destiny'…? Kisa wasn't sure how to respond as he stared at the strange boy. Just then, Yukina walked by, carrying a stack of books.

"Kisa-san's my destiny, too!" he chimed in happily before disappearing again.

Rolling his dark brown eyes, Kisa cleared his throat. He returned his attention to his new acquaintance.

"So, is this Miyagi guy your first?" When the customer nodded shyly, Kisa couldn't help the sly grin that spread across his face. "That explains why you're so 'inexperienced', then."

"Hey!"

The young uke was positively bristling by now. Kisa knew he shouldn't tease him, but to tell the truth this kid really amused him. He was like Ritsu; tetchy and easily flustered.

"Don't worry," he said, and patted the boy's shoulder in a deliberately condescending manner. "You'll learn plenty of new things in time."

The customer scowled. "What are you, some kind of expert?"

Kisa laughed, still leaning against the bookshelf. He used his hand to flip his raven locks in mock arrogance. "Well, I don't want to brag, but in my younger days before I met Yukina, I was pretty popular with the semes."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "'In your younger days'? You're the same age as me, right?"

"Ah, no." Kisa often forgot that most people assumed he was a teenager. "I may not look it, but I'm actually in my thirties."

Though he couldn't see it behind the scarf, Kisa was sure the other uke's jaw had dropped.

"You are not."

"It's true. I've always looked younger than I really am," he explained, laughing at the shock on the boy's face. Kisa was shorter than him, after all, and his babyish face showed no visible signs of age whatsoever.

"So then, you're older than your seme?"

His perturbed expression had Kisa getting a little defensive. "By a decade. Got a problem with that?" he challenged.

But the stranger shook his head.

"No. There's actually a pretty big age gap between me and my boyfriend, too."

"Yeah?" Interest piqued, Kisa asked, "How many years?

The boy didn't look up from his book as he replied. "Seventeen."

"Seventeen?!" Kisa spluttered.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing…" he said hastily, waving his hands. Kisa hadn't meant to be rude, but he couldn't help but feel shocked… He'd thought the ten, almost eleven years between he and Yukina was a pretty extreme age gap, but _seventeen_?! The guy dating this kid would have to be even older than Kisa. "I was wondering what you meant by 'boring old man'…"

When he returned his gaze to the other uke, he found he'd stopped reading the BL novel. Now, he was regarding Kisa with large, inquisitive eyes.

"Are you _really_ thirty?" Kisa nodded, and he went on. "And, were you really with that many guys before you met him?" He jerked a thumb towards Yukina (he was putting his charms on a middle-aged lady) as he spoke.

Again, Kisa gave his confirmation, and the younger man thought for a moment. He was looking at Kisa- for some strange reason- with a kind of envious admiration.

"You must be a total expert on semes, then…"

Laughing awkwardly, Kisa rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, I guess you could say that, yeah."

The other uke stared at the floor for a while. He seemed to be in deep thought. Suddenly, he looked back up at a puzzled Kisa, and his granite-grey eyes were deadly serious.

"I want to be like you."

Kisa blinked. "Huh?"

"I don't want Miyagi and me to get tired of each other… I want to be a seme expert like you, too," the boy said, and to Kisa's surprise his eyes shone with hope as he stared at him. "You could help me."

"Uh... What?" was all Kisa could manage.

He took a sudden step towards the editor, grabbing his sleeve. A bead of sweat formed on Kisa's brow as the young uke gave him an imploring look.

"Teach me everything you know."

"T-teach you?" Kisa was utterly baffled by this awkward, reticent kid's drastic change in temperament. "You mean, y-you actually want me to tell you…?"

This kid wasn't serious asking him to describe his past 'activities', was he? Whilst Kisa was perfectly comfortable speaking of his sexual prowess, he wasn't prepared to actually go into explicit detail- especially not with a total stranger!

To his dismay, the other uke nodded vigorously.

"Exactly. You're the perfect person to help me, if you're as experienced as you say you are." That said, there was a bright flash in his grey eyes. His grip on Kisa's sleeve tightened. "It must be destiny- That's why I met you today!"

"Um…" Nervously, Kisa smiled. "But, I don't really know you…"

All this resulted in was the younger man's hand being thrust underneath Kisa's nose. "I'm Shinobu Takatsuki. What's your name? Your full name," he added. Kisa swallowed, shaking the kid's hand once before withdrawing.

"I-it's Kisa Shouta, but…"

"Can you please give me some advice, Shouta-san?"

He was right in front of Kisa's face now, which was starting to feel very hot as the editor's discomfort grew.

_This kid's a fucking terrorist!_

Taking a step backwards, Kisa held up his hands in an apologetic gesture.

"U-uh… Look, I don't want to be rude, but I really don't feel comfortable telling a stranger about my private life…"

"Oh, come on, Kisa-san!"

A yelp escaped the editor as two long arms suddenly enveloped him from behind. He felt a familiar, chiselled chin resting on top of his head, moving up and down as Yukina began babbling. "Surely, you can tell him. You were the one who told him to talk to other gay guys, weren't you?"

"That's not… ngh… the point, Yukina!" he growled, trying but failing to wriggle out of his seme's grip. Shinobu nodded in agreement.

"He's right, Shouta-san."

Why the hell was Yukina encouraging this guy?! Kisa was now certain his cheeks were blazing, and he was starting to deeply regret boasting about his expertise when it came to entertaining a seme.

"L-look, I was exaggerating a little before," he told Shinobu. "I'm really not that much of an expert- You're better off asking someone else."

"Oh, you're just being modest!" Yukina cut in once again. Shinobu was watching him over Kisa's head, and could practically hear Yukina winking at the caramel-haired kid as he continued. "Kisa-san is _amazing_. He looks so sweet and innocent, but when it comes to the bedroom, he has all kinds of tricks up his sleeve."

To Kisa's horror, Shinobu tilted his head to the side in fascination. "Like what?"

"Don't ask stuff like that!" Still struggling, Kisa glared at the other uke (he would have done so at Yukina, too, if he could see him). This was too much, even for the brazen editor. Just a few minutes ago, Shinobu was the one who was embarrassed and Kisa was teasing him. How had the little terrorist managed to turn the tables all of a sudden?

Both other yaoi enthusiasts completely ignored Kisa as Yukina gladly obliged Shinobu.

"Well, just last night, Kisa-san and I-"

"Yukina, _shut up_!"


	3. Chapter 3

_That is the last time I ever do anything for that oversized moron…_

Hiroki growled to himself as he stepped into the elevator, book bag slung over his shoulder. His cheeks were still slightly warm with anger and embarrassment.

Since his boyfriend had been slaving away at the hospital for hours, Hiroki had decided- instead of getting takeout like he usually did- to be generous and cook dinner for himself and Nowaki before the young doctor returned home.

Or at least, try to cook. Hiroki had never been a very good chef to begin with, but before he even picked up a frying pan, he'd encountered a problem. Namely, Nowaki's apron; the literature professor hadn't wanted to ruin his work clothes (which was very likely, if his past kitchen disasters were anything to go by), but Nowaki was so freakishly tall that the apron dragged on the floor tiles when Hiroki tried to wear it. If he'd tripped with a knife in his hand or the burner on, he was practically guaranteed to maim himself.

There was, however, one other apron in the house: a short, skimpy, white-ruffled garment that Nowaki had bought at a cosplay store. He'd tried to make Hiroki wear it on multiple occasions, but the uke always hotly refused. No way would he ever wear something so humiliating.

On that particular night, however, Hiroki had decided it would be a bother to change his clothes, and passionately as he hated the thing, he could probably stand to use the apron just this once seeing as Nowaki wasn't home.

Of course- of _course_ \- one of the doctor's patients just so happened to cancel their appointment on that particular day, meaning Nowaki was able to leave the hospital early. Arriving home, he'd opened the door and caught his Hiro-san- rooted to the spot and blushing bright red- standing in the steamy kitchen with his sleeves rolled up, his collar unbuttoned and that godforsaken apron tied around his waist, floating delicately about his thighs.

The seme had nearly had a nosebleed right there on the spot.

What followed was a frantic chase around the room as Nowaki tried to catch his unintentionally seductive uke and Hiroki scrambled to get away, violently protesting against Nowaki's insistence that they re-enact one of his 'fantasies'. Not had only had this resulted in the complete annihilation of the kitchen, but by the time Hiroki had put a stop to Nowaki's antics by bashing him over the head with a wooden spoon, his food had been completely burnt. The older boyfriend had been so furious that he'd torn off the apron and stormed out without even bothering to make new arrangements for dinner, leaving Nowaki to clean up the ruined kitchen.

_It had better be spotless by the time I get back_ , he grumbled inwardly, pushing the elevator button. His irritation waned a little, however, as he remembered Nowaki's face when he left; he'd looked like a sad little puppy. Hiroki wasn't really as stone-hearted as he seemed, and at that point he couldn't help but feel a little bad for losing his temper…

But, it was Nowaki's own damn fault! Hiroki sighed as he ascended, feeling a pang of guilt nonetheless. He loved his giant, he truly did, but he made Hiroki so… so…

The _ding_ of the elevator made him jump. Silver doors slid open, and Hiroki shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets as he exited. He'd make up with Nowaki later; for now, he wanted to forget about his seme troubles and just talk books with a friend.

In his bag was the heavy novel he'd borrowed from the editor, and he fished it out before arriving at and knocking on the door.

"Onodera, it's me." No answer. He knocked again. "Onodera?"

Still nothing. Frowning, Hiroki thumped his fist against the door for a third time. "Oi, Onodera, open the door."

No answer came from within, and an annoyed Hiroki rolled his eyes. His workaholic friend was probably either still at Marukawa or right behind the door, passed out in the entryway after a sleepless twenty-four hours of editing shoujou manga. Hiroki had no idea why Onodera had decided to stay on that magazine, especially when he had such a natural flair for literature.

Just as he was raising his fist to knock again, a voice came from Hiroki's right.

"Who are you?"

Turning his head to the side, Hiroki saw a man who was maybe a little older than him, standing outside the doorway to the neighbouring apartment. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, looking at Hiroki as though he hated him more than anyone else in the world.

"Excuse me?"

"Who are you, and what do you want with Ritsu?" the man said. He was a little taller than Hiroki, but more shabbily dressed. A cigarette hung from his lips. He reminded Hiroki a little of Akihiko, actually.

The professor held up the novel. "I'm just returning a book he lent me."

He had a feeling he already knew who this person was, and returned the man's angry look with his own signature scowl. "Why, have you got a problem with me being here or something?"

Amber eyes narrowed. "I have a problem with anyone who shows up alone at my Ritsu's door this late in the evening."

At the man's protective tone, Hiroki fought the urge to roll his rust-coloured eyes a second time. _Fucking semes…_ "You must be Takano, huh?" He looked the other up and down. "Onodera complains about you all the time, but I never imagined you'd be this annoying."

The young editor was forever ranting about his domineering boss/neighbour/boyfriend (?)

When Takano (Hiroki was certain now it was him) clamped his teeth down on the cigarette, he held up his hands in a steadying motion. "I'm not here to make a move on your uke or anything, so there's no need to get your panties in a knot."

This only seemed to further annoy Takano, but he didn't snap at Hiroki like he expected. Instead, he regarded the shorter man silently for a moment or two before calmly remarking,

"You're right. I was worried for nothing." He gave Hiroki a quick once-over with his amber eyes. "You're hardly a threat."

At this, the proud professor bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Before Takano could reply, however, the elevator dinged for a second time, and a familiar figure stepped into the hallway.

"Takano-san?" Onodera, briefcase in hand, quickened his pace when he saw the raven-haired man standing outside. "What are you- Oh, Kamijou-sensei." Olive-green eyes widened when Onodera saw Hiroki, and he bowed in greeting. Uncertainly, he looked from the peeved professor to the irritated editor.

"I… see you met my boss," he said.

Takano clicked his tongue at that. "Is it really too much for you to say 'boyfriend'?"

Immediately, Onodera's brows lowered and he flushed. "For the last time, you are _not_ my boyfriend."

"Seriously?" Puffing on his cigarette, Takano cocked an eyebrow at his subordinate. "I've lost count of the amount of times we've slept together, and you still say we're not even dating?"

He was pointedly ignoring Hiroki, whose own eyebrows lifted a little at this rather personal revelation from Takano. Onodera's face darkened a shade, and his eyes darted first to Hiroki, then the floor.

"W-we only did that a few times!" he stammered. "An-and it doesn't mean we're _dating_!"

"Fuck buddies, then?"

" _No!_ "

Takano grumbled around his smoke. "Well, it has to be one of the two…"

"Fucking hell, Onodera, how do you stand to be around this guy all day?" said Hiroki, regarding Takano with barely concealed aversion. This guy _was_ just like Akihiko, only ten times more obnoxious.

To Onodera's obvious discomfort, his boss took a step towards Hiroki. The shorter man tried not to let Takano's stature intimidate him as he got in Hiroki's face.

"For your information, Ritsu loves being around me," he half-snarled. "He just won't admit it."

"Takano-san…" said Ritsu nervously.

Takano ignored him. He eyed Hiroki closely, scrutinising him. "Forgive me, but you have yet to answer my previous question: who the hell _are_ you?"

Determined to show this guy up, Hiroki straightened a little and puffed out his chest- well, tried to, anyway. He raised his chin and looked Takano right in the eyes.

"I'm Hiroki Kamijou. Professor of Japanese literature at Mitsuhashi University."

Instead of responding, Takano (to Hiroki's irritation) simply looked past him at Onodera. "How'd you become friends with a university professor?" he asked.

Onodera, sensing the growing confrontation between the two, rubbed the back of his head.

"I told you I used to be Akihiko Usami's editor, didn't I?" he said. "Kamijou-sensei is his friend. I've known him for ages."

Upon hearing this, Takano whipped his head back to Hiroki, and the professor was pleased to see a hint of envious admiration in his otherwise disapproving eyes. " _You're_ friends with Akihiko Usami?"

The corner of Hiroki's mouth quirked upwards. Onodera had mentioned before that Akihiko was a favourite author of both himself and his boss, and he couldn't help but feel proud that he'd managed to one-up the annoying editor in chief.

"I even edit his manuscripts sometimes," he told him. Standing smugly with his hands in his pockets, he couldn't help but add, "Quite a step up from your frivolous shoujou manga, eh?"

Had Onodera not been watching, Takano would have probably punched Hiroki in the face right there and then. Restraining himself, he took a long drag of smoke and blew it purposely in Hiroki's direction.

"So, you've known Ritsu for a long time?" There was a hard edge to his voice.

While Hiroki waved smoke away and tried not to cough, Onodera frowned at his neighbour. "Don't get any weird ideas, Takano-san. He has a boyfriend- a _seme_ ," he hastily informed him, gesturing to the above-average-uke but not-quite-seme beside him.

"Is that so?" Raising his eyebrows, Takano studied Hiroki's scowling face. "I suppose he is way too puny to be a seme, but he doesn't look nearly cute enough for an uke, either..."

How dare he say such things about him as if he weren't even there?! Before Hiroki was even able to make a witty retort, Takano's mouth twisted to the side. "The guy who tops you must be blind."

Hiroki's hackles raised. "Why, you-!"

"That's enough, Takano-san!" Onodera barked, quickly rising to Hiroki's defence before he did something drastic. He glared at an indifferent Takano. "Stop being so rude to my friend. Don't you have something else you should be doing, anyway?"

A smirk. "Is that an invitation, Ritsu?"

"Shut it, you perv!" Fuming, Onodera grabbed the cuff of Hiroki's jacket and tugged at him. "Come on, Kamijou-sensei. Let's go to the bookstore."

He pulled Hiroki after him, and together they stomped off towards the elevator. The professor shot Takano one last loathing look over his shoulder, only to see that he was still smoking by his doorway, watching Hiroki leave with blazing, amber eyes.

Despite himself, Hiroki swallowed. _I think I may have made a powerful enemy in that guy…_

* * *

Even as he and Hiroki stepped out of the building and into the cooling air, Onodera was still burning bright red in the face. He clenched his fists by his sides as he and Hiroki walked along the street.

"I hate him!" he passionately declared. "He is such an ass!"

Hiroki scoffed. "You can say that again…"

"I'm sorry about him, Kamijou-sensei." His face softening a little, Onodera looked up at Hiroki with apologetic green eyes. "He's so possessive. I can't go near _anyone_ without him getting jealous."

Dusk was slowly suffusing the sky, turning it a pleasant shade of orange and silhouetting the towering Tokyo skyline. Hiroki stared thoughtfully at it as he and Onodera made their way towards the shops.

"I know how you feel. Nowaki gets like that about the guy I share an office with," he remarked, remembering his giant's catastrophic first meeting with Miyagi. Come to think of it, Nowaki always seemed a little irked whenever Hiroki went to see his childhood friend, too- even though he'd told him countless times that he didn't love the author anymore. "He doesn't like me hanging out with Akihiko, either. Damn suspicious semes."

"How is Usami-sensei?" asked Onodera. He was smiling now, reverting back to his usual, amiable self. "I haven't seen him since I transferred to Marukawa."

"He's fine. A pain in the ass as usual." Remembering his last meeting with Akihiko, he added, "He lives with this brat who's in my class now. What was his name…?"

Onodera tilted his head. "It wouldn't be Misaki Takahashi, would it?"

"Misaki, that's the one," said Hiroki, brow clearing. "How did you know?"

"Oh, he started working full-time in our department a few months ago," the editor told him. "I remember there were rumours going around that he was living with one of the company's star authors.

"Speaking of him, I think he's throwing a party tonight…" Rummaging in his bag, Onodera pulled out his phone and checked his text messages. The two of them turned a corner, and Marimo Books came into view, wide windows invitingly lit.

Eagerly, the pair of bookworms pushed open the door, thrilled at the prospect of so many new works to sink their teeth into. The warm smell of paper greeted them as they entered, along with brightly coloured displays and rows upon rows of well-stocked bookshelves. To the cantankerous pair of ukes, such a sight was always very soothing when they were annoyed with their semes.

They drifted apart to begin perusing the bookshelves, but almost right away Hiroki was distracted by the sound of two arguing voices, disturbing the peaceful store. Curious, he peeked around a shelf at the manga section, where the noise seemed to be coming from.

Some little shrimp of a man was bickering with a bookstore employee, squaring up to him despite the height difference. He looked incredibly annoyed about something, but the employee- instead of apologising politely to the customer- was smiling and laughing right in his face. Beside them, a caramel-haired youth watched impassively.

"… Come on, Kisa-san!" the tall employee was saying. "He's a young fellow uke seeking your wisdom guidance. You should take him under your wing!"

Hiroki raised a brow.

"No freaking way!" replied the short guy, blushing profusely. "I'm not discussing the details of our sex life with some random kid!"

Just then, Onodera poked his head out of the historical fiction section.

"Oh, hello, Kisa-san."

The short guy looked over his shoulder. Upon seeing Onodera, he grew even more flustered (if that were possible).

"O-oh, Rit-chan! Uh, hi." Feebly, he laughed and feigned innocence. "Did you come to yell at me for not submitting that storyboard on time?"

The seemingly oblivious Ritsu only smiled. "No, I'm just shopping with a friend." He waved Hiroki over, introducing him as he approached. "This is Hiroki Kamijou from Mitsuhashi University. Kamijou-sensei, this is my colleague, Kisa Shouta."

As they shook hands, Hiroki was suddenly struck with the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched. Turning his gaze sideways, he was met with the stormy, grey eyes of the blonde kid beside them, who was giving him a look not unlike the one Takano had given him just before. For some reason- even though he hadn't done a thing to anger the boy- a shiver ran along Hiroki's spine. Maybe it was because the youth looked so unnervingly familiar.

_Is he one of my students, maybe?_ Hiroki wasn't exactly a popular teacher.

Coughing, he returned his attention to the other man, Kisa. "So, Shouta-san, how long have you been working at Marukawa for?"

"Almost a decade now," he replied.

Hiroki's eyes grew round. "A _decade_ , did you say?" Surely, he couldn't be older than twenty…

"Kisa-san's a lot older than he looks," the employee behind them piped up.

"Are you a friend of Kisa-san's?" asked Onodera, looking up from the novel he was flipping through. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

The employee- who had shiny, crimson eyes and a lot of ear piercings- flashed Onodera and Hiroki a brilliant smile. He wrapped his arms around an embarrassed Kisa from behind. "My name's Yukina Kou, and I'm Kisa-san's boyfriend!"

As Kisa's cheeks brightened, Onodera and Hiroki exchanged looks. Another _uke?_ Hiroki was beginning to wonder if anyone involved in that publishing company was straight…

"U-um, hey, Rit-chan," said Kisa, obviously eager to change the subject. "Did you get a text from Yoshino-sensei, too?"

"About Takahashi-kun's party?" said Ritsu. "Yeah, I'm going to head there as soon as I'm done. Hey, Kamijou-sensei, you should come too!" he said, turning to Hiroki with a smile.

But Hiroki shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm not very fond of parties."

While this was true, there was another reason Hiroki didn't want to go; Akihiko was away for an interview, which meant Hiroki would probably be obliged to socialise with his uke…

It wasn't as if he disliked the Takahashi kid; he'd been an obedient and hard-working (if slightly airheaded) student. But since he discovered the boy's true relationship to Akihiko, he'd always made Hiroki a little uncomfortable somehow. Maybe it was because he was Takahiro's brother; maybe it was because Akihiko had always been such a loner; or maybe it was because the author and the editor were so unalike that Hiroki just found their being together plain weird. Especially the age gap; he'd always thought the four years between himself and Nowaki were pushing it, but a whole decade?

"Oh, come on, Kamijou-sensei, it'll be fun," said Onodera, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, the more the merrier!" Kisa chirped.

They looked at him expectantly, and Hiroki waved his hands. "I really can't. I have to get back to…" he trailed off, remembering that he was supposed to be angry with Nowaki. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was really too early to return home and forgive his giant…

"Just stay for a few hours," Onodera said, and Hiroki sighed.

"Okay, fine."

All this time, the employee called Yukina had been patiently holding onto Kisa, resting his chin on his boyfriend's dark hair. His handsome face fell a little at the talk of the party, though.

"Aww, I wish I could go with you guys," he said, cuddling Kisa. "But I don't get off work for another hour, and then I have a painting to finish."

"Just as well, if you're going to keep embarrassing me…" Kisa grumbled, though he didn't seem truly angry. He shrugged Yukina off, looking from Onodera to Hiroki. "Shall we get going to Takahashi's, then?"

"Wait."

All heads pivoted at the sudden, new voice. Hiroki had almost forgotten the other young man, who he'd assumed was just a casual observer to Kisa's and Yukina's argument. But the blonde-haired boy handed a book to Yukina (was that one of Akihiko's BL novels?), told him he'd like to buy it, and then turned back to the others.

"I'm going to Takahashi-senpai's party, too. I might as well walk with you".

As Yukina prepared the book for him, a trio of jaws dropped in surprise.

"No kidding, Takatsuki-kun?" Kisa said. "Huh. Small world."

"I'll say…" Hiroki mumbled; this was starting to feel a little uncanny. He eyed the newcomer warily. "Next you'll be telling me you're also an uke, too."

To Hiroki's immense uneasiness, the boy swivelled his head to face him and narrowed his slate-coloured eyes to slits. "You mean you don't recognize me? My seme _works_ with you, Kamijou-sensei."

That was when it finally clicked.

"Wait, you're Miyagi's brat?!" So _that_ was why he looked so familiar. Hiroki couldn't help but gape. Small world, indeed…

Upon being called a 'brat', the boy's already annoyed expression soured even further, and Hiroki silently reprimanded himself. Suddenly, he understood why Miyagi often referred to his uke as a 'little terrorist'.

"Uh, sorry," he said to the boy. "You're the dean's son, right? Takatsuki-kun?"

He nodded, albeit in a disdainful sort of way. "Shinobu Takatsuki."

With that, he went to pay for his book. Hiroki frowned, looking at the others. "In that case, I hate to be a bore, but I really shouldn't be going to a party with a student, let alone my boss's kid."

"What's the problem?" Onodera said. "If your colleague is _dating_ him, surely you can come to the party."

"I guess…" Sighing, Hiroki folded his arms. "To be honest, something about that kid kind of… unnerves me."

For some reason, Shinobu really seemed to dislike Hiroki, despite the fact that they'd barely spoken in their lives. Could it be to do with Miyagi's constant flirting in the office? This realisation on Hiroki's part just made him all the less inclined to attend a party with this kid.

Kisa nodded. He, too, didn't seem too pleased about their new companion. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But now that I think about it, I hardly ever get to hang out with other ukes. It might be a nice change.

"I say we all go and just try to get along," he concluded, smiling in a childish, baby-faced sort of way at his fellow ukes. Onodera nodded his chestnut head.

"Seconded," he said. "Kamijou-sensei?"

Newly purchased book in hand, Shinobu sauntered over. "Are we going or what?"

Everyone looked at Hiroki, whose shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Fine, then."

It was going to be an interesting evening.


	4. Chapter 4

The unlikely foursome made their way briskly to the condominium where Misaki lived, only stopping once to pick up some drinks. The streets were dark and the air nippy by the time they arrived. They squeezed into the elevator and ascended towards the penthouse, glad at least for the warmth.

It felt just a tiny bit awkward with Shinobu there, him having terrorised both Hiroki and Kisa not long ago. Still, they managed to make pleasant enough conversation until the elevator finally reached the top floor, shiny, silver doors sliding open with a metallic hiss.

"Hello?" Ritsu called, taking off his shoes as he entered. The other three ukes followed; Kisa gasped as he looked around, clearly impressed.

"Woah, this place is huge…"

In addition to being enormous, the condo was now warmly lit with a view of the sparkling city lights, and it even sported a few party decorations here and there (this was the first party Misaki had ever thrown, and he wanted to do it correctly). Upbeat music pulsed from the radio. A blend of delicious aromas wafted in from the kitchen, where Misaki and Chiaki were arranging an array of refreshments. The mangaka waved.

"Hi, everyone!"

"Oh, you guys came as a group!" Misaki, ever the attentive host, hurried to set the plates he was carrying down on the coffee table before approaching his friends. He smiled as he headed over to them- only to skid to a halt as he noticed Hiroki, eyes popping out of his head.

"K-Kamijou-sensei?!"

"Ah, I invited him along, Takahashi-kun," Ritsu said, placing his shoes in the entryway and handing Misaki a six-pack of Usagi beer. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no, no, not at all!" said Misaki, albeit a little nervously. He waved them all over to the plush, pink couches in the middle of the room. "Please, make yourselves at home, everyone! Oh, Takatsuki-kun, you're here too," he said, noticing Shinobu.

Kisa was carrying one of the three packs of beer over to the coffee table. "I met him just before I left for your place, coincidentally enough."

Depositing his shoes beside the others, Shinobu looked over his shoulder at Kisa. "You still didn't answer my questions from before, Shouta-san."

"Hey, Takahashi-kun, this food looks amazing!" Kisa said, hastily changing the subject. Misaki smiled modestly, pinking a little at the praise.

"Yoshino-sensei helped."

Everyone turned their attention to Chiaki, who'd been introducing himself to Hiroki. He was carrying food to the living room, too, though the traces of crumbs on his face suggested that not all the snacks had made it to the table. He smiled sheepishly as he set a tray of dango down in front of Ritsu, who was sitting on the couch beside Kisa.

"No, it was really all Misaki-kun's doing. I'm a hopeless cook."

Shinobu took a seat at the head of the table, where the couch turned a sharp corner. "Neither am I. My boyfriend's always nice about my cooking, but I'm sure he hates it," he said to Chiaki, who laughed.

"You're Takatsuki-kun, right? Consider yourself lucky- _My_ boyfriend doesn't even let me near the kitchen!"

Until that point, Hiroki had been reclining in his favourite corner of the couch (he'd been there so many times before, it was practically a second home to him). Hearing Chiaki mention his boyfriend, however, he sat abruptly forwards, an incredulous look on his face.

"Wait, boyfriend? So…" He looked around at the five other faces surrounding him. "Every single person here is an uke?"

When he received nods from all the others, Hiroki's jaw dropped.

"Do you guys realise what an insane coincidence that is?!"

Kisa shrugged. "There are actually quite a lot of gay guys in the office where Rit-chan and I work, Kamijou-sensei," he said. "One of them dates Yoshino-sensei, so that's how we know each other. It's not that coincidental, really."

"So, do you work on shoujo manga with Onodera, uh…" Hiroki trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, what was your name again?"

"It's Kisa," he replied, and grinned. "I take it your memory isn't the best?"

Hiroki scowled. "That's not it. It's just that you guys are really hard to tell apart…"

Though of varying heights, hairstyles, etc. all the ukes aside from Hiroki were indeed very similar in appearance. From his spot at the fair end of the couch, Shinobu looked Hiroki up and down.

"Actually, you don't really look like a typical uke, Kamijou-sensei."

"And just what do you mean by that?" Hiroki growled. He was getting tired of these uke body expectations; what, if he wasn't petite, doe-eyed and baby-faced, he couldn't be on the… ahem, 'receiving end' in a relationship?

Misaki, who'd been sticking strawberries on a large iced cake in the kitchen, rushed over and set the sweet treat down in the centre of the coffee table before an argument could break out. He wasn't about to let the mood turn sour at his party.

"Hey now, let's be friendly here, guys," he said, passing around paper plates as Chiaki started cutting slices of cake. "We're all ukes together, so we should be supporting each other, not tearing each other down."

"You make it sound like this is some kind of 'ukes anonymous' thing, Takahashi-senpai…" Shinobu grumbled.

"Is that such a bad thing?" said Ritsu. He helped himself to a slice of cake. "I think it's nice that we can all get together as ukes like this- especially without the semes hanging over us."

Hiroki leaned back again. He actually felt slightly guilty about ditching Nowaki for this, but Ritsu had a point.

"I guess it is kind of nice… I don't think I've spent much time with any other ukes before," he admitted. Munching on Misaki's cake, the rest of the guys nodded in agreement.

"Then, we should make the most of it!" Smiling, Misaki sat himself down beside his ex-professor and fellow uke, taking a slice of cake for himself and raising his fork. "Let's have us an uke party!"

* * *

For all the slightly shaky introductions on the part of some of the ukes, the first hour or so of the evening passed rather pleasantly as the six young men sat gathered in the living room. There was plenty of room on the huge couches for the ukes as they listened (and occasionally sung along) to the music, nibbling on dango and octopus-hotdogs and sipping at Usagi beer. Of course, it being a congregation of ukes who were all mostly tsunderes, it wasn't long before the conversation turned to the topic of the semes once again.

"I haven't been here in years," Ritsu was saying, gazing around at Usami's huge, sparkling condo. "It's a lot neater than it used to be."

Gnawing at a dango ball, Misaki let out a 'hmph'.

"No thanks to that lazy-ass rabbit. He never does any work around here, you know- it's all me."

"You should be glad," said Ritsu through a mouthful. Having eaten nothing but convenience store dinners for the past week, he was enjoying Misaki's spread immensely and was hogging an entire plate of sushi rolls to himself. "Takano-san is always breaking into my apartment and tidying it, the creep. He says I'm not organised enough. It's so patronising!"

Misaki looked across the table at him with sympathy.

"Trust me, Usagi-san can be really patronising, too." Looking away to the side, a faint, indignant blush came to the younger editor's cheeks. "He can be really mean, sometimes, actually. He calls me dumb, and short, and he messes up my hair like I'm a little kid…"

Mouth agape, Ritsu slammed down his can of beer. "Takano-san does that, too! It's infuriating!"

"Isn't it, though?!"

Ritsu folded his arms with vehemence. "Stupid, overbearing seme jerks!"

"Too right!"

The two of them weren't the only ones complaining. Beside them, Hiroki and Kisa were leaning across the coffee table. The professor and the editor had found they had quite a bit of chemistry as they conversed.

"… To tell you the truth, I was actually fairly, um… 'active' before I met Yukina," Kisa was saying. Rubbing the back of his cinnamon head, Hiroki nodded.

"Yeah. I was the same," he confessed.

Kisa sipped his beer. "I liked trying new things with new people, but I'm really glad I've met the right person now. You know?"

"Mm, me too…" Resting his head on his palm, Hiroki let out a sigh. "Though, my Nowaki can be such a gooey sap sometimes. It's kind of embarrassing."

"Oh, Yukina's the same," Kisa said. "He's always trying to kiss or hold hands when we go out."

Hiroki shook his head. "Honestly, what is it with semes and their public displays of affection?"

A shrug. "I think maybe it's a basic seme requirement to be a giant raging pervert."

Despite his usual awkwardness in social situations, Hiroki laughed. Opening a beer, he tapped his can against Kisa's, creating a merry 'clink'. He decided he quite liked this guy- even if he _was_ a shoujo manga editor.

Meanwhile, Misaki and Chiaki were engaged in another discussion.

"Ever since he confessed to me, Tori really hates it when I hang out with Yuu," Chiaki said with a sigh. "I feel really awkward being stuck in the middle of them all the time, but I don't want to lose either of them…"

"You don't have to," Misaki assured, patting his friend's arm in a comforting way. "A mangaka I sometimes see at work told me he has a crush on me, and I managed to stay friends with him.

"Though, it's difficult because Usagi-san can't stand him…" The editor echoed Chiaki's sigh. "I wish he wouldn't be so jealous all the time."

Hiroki, who had overheard part of their conversation, twisted to look at his ex-student. "Well, you can't really blame Akihiko. It's easy to feel threatened when someone else comes onto your boyfriend, even if they don't return the gesture." He was thinking of a certain blone-haired doctor as he said this.

At the other end of the coffee table, Shinobu (lying with his legs draped over the armrest) had been chatting to Ritsu, but upon hearing this from Hiroki he whipped his head around to face him.

"You're one to talk, 'Kah-mee-jou-sen-saaay'," he sneered, imitating Miyagi's usual way of addressing Hiroki. The professor glowered.

"It's not like I _ask_ your seme to sexually harass me."

Shinobu took a pensive swig of beer. "I guess it is Miyagi's fault, really. Really, what does that idiot think he's doing to you every day? He should only pay attention to _me_ …"

Nearly all the ukes were talking at once now, getting increasingly agitated as they griped about their semes. All except one. Chiaki was sitting cross-legged on the couch, listening to his friends as they berated and bad-mouthed their significant others. A small, sad frown formed on his face. Finally, when the noise grew to be too loud, Chiaki leapt abruptly to his feet, tapping the side of his beer can with the fork he'd been eating cake with.

"Excuse me, everyone! I have something to say."

At the call and the clanking of metal-on-tin, the small gathering ceased their conversing and turned their heads towards Chiaki. Once all eyes were on him, he flushed a tiny bit at the attention.

"Um… Let us not forget that, even though our semes all have their flaws, they still love us very much." The mangaka knew he must sound corny to the tsunderes surrounding him, but being a professional shoujo writer he wasn't ashamed to spout lovey-dovey stuff now and then. "I get frustrated with Tori, too, but I wouldn't give him up for the world. So I… I think tonight, instead of complaining about their bad sides, we should focus on all the good things about the ones we love."

Chiaki's heartfelt words seemed to strike a chord within everyone there. Five pairs of eyes lowered guiltily, and they exchanged glances.

"… He's right," said Hiroki eventually, breaking the silence. "Nowaki's a big goof, but I wouldn't change anything about him, really."

"Yeah," murmured Shinobu. "Miyagi is my destiny, after all. More than that- he's my hero. I should really be better to him," he admitted to his newfound friends.

Ritsu tucked his knees up to his chest, thinking. "I could probably be nicer to Takano-san, too. He did love me for ten whole years… And he's not all bad," he added. "He's an amazing editor, and I would never have gotten this far without him."

"And Yukina is _so_ sexy… I-I mean, uh, funny, and talented, and, um…"

Misaki's green eyes had taken on a slightly glazed look.

"Usagi-san drives me nuts, but he's really an amazing person beneath all that. He's kind, and sensitive, and the smartest person I've ever met." A soft smile played on the boy's lips. "Since I met him, I… I've felt more loved than anyone else in the world."

That said, the six ukes fell into meditative silence, each thinking the same thing; how much they undervalued the one they loved. Satisfied, Chiaki looked around at all of his friends before silently raising his beer can.

"I'd like to propose a toast," he said, regaining their attention. "To our semes. Who we love, just the way they are."

Smiles appeared all around the coffee table, and five more beer cans lifted into the air.

"To our semes."

After repeating Chiaki's words, they each began downing their drinks (apart from Shinobu, who muttered "God, that was cheesy…"), but right then, the doorbell rang, just audible over the music.

"Oh, I'll get that," said Misaki, scampering over.

Opening the door, he was greeted with an excited, blonde-haired man- Chiaki's friend Yuu- who was carrying three enormous bottles of alcohol under each arm. Beside him, Sumi waved and wordlessly held up… a karaoke machine.

Misaki's bespectacled senpai grinned. "Are we doing this?"

* * *

For a small party of only eight, the ukes managed to be remarkably loud that night. The walls shook as they took turns jumping about and dancing (all except Hiroki, who adamantly refused), and their enthusiastic performances on the karaoke machine rang throughout the entire condominium. Food, cushions and streamers had somehow been strewn all over the place, meaning Misaki would have a ton of cleaning up to do the next day as well as apologising to the neighbours.

Normally this would have bothered Misaki, but due to the alcohol (which, at midnight, was all pretty much gone) he was just doing his best to stay awake. What kind of host would he be if he fell asleep at his own party, after all? As he lay slumped against the armrest, his sleepy eyes took in his fellow ukes and their intoxicated antics.

Chiaki and Hiroki were sitting across from him. The usually proud and surly professor was draped over the mangaka's shoulders, empty beer can dangling from one hand as he sobbed and hiccupped into Chiaki's shirt.

"… And do you know what he said? He said 'Takahiro'! Can you believe that?" he wept, his voice thick. Tears welled in his rust-coloured eyes and dripped down his flushed cheeks. "I was, I was all ready for him to fall in love with me, but he was still thinking about that glasses-wearing dimwit!"

Far from sharing his new friend's anguish, Chiaki was grinning from ear to ear. At some point after his third or fourth beer, he'd been overcome with a series of relentless giggling fits, and as he listened to the emotional Hiroki's laments he burst into raucous laughter.

"You-you let him do that to you, in a _b-blindfold_? That's h-hilarious! You idiot!"

His guffaws along with Hiroki's sobs grew steadily louder.

"I _am_ an idiot!" he wailed. "Why, Akihiko, why?!"

They fell against the armrest, Chiaki shaking with splutters and Hiroki with sobs. Behind them, Sumi was clutching a bottle in one hand and the karaoke microphone in the other, glasses askew, singing a bellowing, off-key rendition of 'My Heart Will Go On'. Kisa was on his feet beside him, flailing his limbs around in what was probably supposed to be a dance of sorts. His drunken flush was considerably darker than that of the others. His dancing (?) slowed a little and he fanned himself.

"Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?"

Chiaki was still laughing so hard his stomach hurt, but he stopped in surprise as Kisa's shirt suddenly landed on his head and covered his face. He twisted around, struggling under the weight of the crying Hiroki.

"Ki-Kisa-san, what are you doing?"

The bare-chested Kisa flung his arms about, spilling beer onto the floorboards. "I'm having fun!" he yelled, reaching for his belt buckle.

" _Leave your damn pants on, moron!"_ Shinobu slurred loudly. His teeth were clenched and his grey eyes were stormier than ever. "And you, gimme that!" he snapped, snatching the half-drunk can of beer from the editor beside him.

Bleary, olive eyes blinked in confusion as Ritsu's beer disappeared from his hand. He frowned at Shinobu.

"Hey, give that baaack…" he reached languidly for the drink that Shinobu was now chugging, but only succeeded in knocking over the plate of octo-dogs in front of him. A disappointed whine grew in the back of his throat. "Aww, I wasn't done eating thooose…"

As Misaki watched with vague sadness as his lovely octopi went to waste, there was a sudden weight on top of him. He looked up and found himself staring into a pair of glittering, crimson eyes.

"Hey." Hovering on all fours over the stretched out Misaki, Yuu's usually light and playful voice had a sultriness to it. His sandy hair stuck up in tufts all over the place. "You're pretty cute. Wanna have some fun?"

One hand wandered up Misaki's chest, and even in his drink-addled state he knew this wasn't a good thing.

"Hey, knock it off," the sleepy editor mumbled, pushing Yuu's hands away. "I- hic- I have a boyfriend, y'know."

Immediately, Yuu's suggestive expression turned sulky. He huffed, pushing off Misaki and crossing his arms.

"Why does everyone keep _saying_ that…?"

Remembering something, Misaki pointed to his singing senpai. "Sumi-senpai, is single, try him."

" _Yooouuu're heeerrre, there's NOOOTHING I feeeaaarrr…"_

As Yuu rushed to join Sumi in a duet, Kisa finally managed to stumble out of his trousers and began running around in nothing but his boxers, whirling the discarded garments around his head like a helicopter.

"Woooooo! Uke party!" he yelled, and collided with a furious Shinobu who was now also on his feet.

"Hey, watch it!" he roared, spinning around to face the near-naked editor. "And put on some clothes, pipsqueak!"

"Give me back my driiink!" Ritsu moaned, giving Shinobu a shove; it was a weak one, but enough to send the tipsy student staggering into Kisa, who responded by, despite his small size, pushing Shinobu off him and into the coffee table. Losing his balance, the boy skidded across its surface on his face, sending the remaining plates, cups and snacks to the floor. There was a huge crash as Shinobu landed on the other side in a heap, instantly leaping to his feet again.

"You'll pay for that!" he roared, tackling both Kisa and Ritsu. More crashes and heavy thuds shook the room, though they weren't enough to drown out Sumi's and Yuu's passionate duet as they bawled into the single microphone, swaying with their arms slung around each other's shoulders.

The entire scene was so hilarious to Chiaki that he could hardly breathe through his laughs. As Hiroki fell from him onto the couch- still sobbing as he buried his wet face in a cushion- the editor somehow managed to totter over to where Misaki was lying, very nearly dozing off. He collapsed next to him, wheezing.

"Man, M-Misaki-kun," he gasped, wiping a tear from his eye. "This is s-so much fun!"

Looking around, Misaki took in the two caterwauling companions who were definitely keeping the neighbours awake; the disoriented Ritsu dragging himself across the floorboards towards a puddle of beer; the now somehow completely naked Kisa, wrestling with an enraged Shinobu. He took in his terrifying literature professor, crying like a child on the couch opposite him. He surveyed the wreckage of the once beautiful condo, which he would inevitably have to explain to Usagi-san the next day. Finally, he looked down at his friend Chiaki, who was cramming cake into his mouth and spewing crumbs as he continued to cackle like a madman.

Misaki smiled sleepily. "This _is_ fun. We should have uke parties more often!"

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it to the end, congrats and thanks for reading. :)


End file.
